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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25725583">Demon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lk321/pseuds/lk321'>lk321</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>stray kids - the book of us [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, Established Relationship, Hwang Hyunjin is a Good Friend, M/M, Mentioned Stray Kids Ensemble, Minor Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:35:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,967</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25725583</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lk321/pseuds/lk321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>To anyone who knew them, Jisung and Minho were like day and night. A chance meeting sparks a connection between them that quickly has them falling in love, but as time goes on, they’re both faced with a difficult lesson: that sometimes, to make a relationship work, just being in love isn’t quite enough.</p><p>Inspired by Day6’s album <i>The Book of Us: Demon</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>stray kids - the book of us [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866061</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Demon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This isn't something I'd normally write, so we'll see how this goes, but this story has been sitting in my mind ever since <i>The Book of Us: Demon</i> came out. It's not fully written, so updates will probably be slow, but hopefully it will turn out to be a good read? (This chapter alone ended up so much longer than I intended lol)</p><p>I guess things to mention...? Everyone's aged up (they're post-college), there's drinking, other than that, the happy ending part of "angst with a happy ending" can probably be considered bittersweet, so do with that what you will.</p><p>Anyways, each chapter's based off a song in the album, so...<br/><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4rERCAUID8"><b>"Day and Night" by Day6</b></a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">The first time Jisung met Minho, it was summer, on a day when Seoul reported record high temperatures for the first time in decades.</p><p class="p1">It had been on the day of his best friend’s wedding, and Jisung was extremely thankful that Hyunjin had had the foresight to not have an outdoor wedding on the hottest day of their lives. He’d been looking forward to attending Hyunjin’s wedding, ever since Hyunjin had announced that he’d gotten engaged, or perhaps Jisung had been looking forward to it from even before that. Anyone who looked at Hyunjin and Seungmin knew they were a couple who was just meant to be, but although Jisung was more than excited to attend the joyous ceremony, there was one person he especially wanted to meet.</p><p class="p1">Lee Minho.</p><p class="p1">Jisung had heard of Minho before they met. He hadn’t had much of a choice. It was his fault for pestering Hyunjin about him, but in Jisung’s defense, Jisung was pretty sure that as Hyunjin’s best friend, he had every right to know why Hyunjin was asking this Lee Minho to be his best man at his wedding and not him.</p><p class="p1">“Jisung, for the last time, you hate speaking in public!” Hyunjin said exasperatingly, throwing his hands dramatically in the air. It was a valid point. As much as Jisung loved performing on stage, public speaking was an entirely different ordeal, and he couldn’t remember a single time it’d gone well for him. Still, his words only made Jisung feel more indignant.</p><p class="p1">“I just think there’s no one who can express how wonderful my best friend is better than I can,” Jisung huffed, unceremoniously flopping down on Hyunjin’s couch. “What kind of best friend would I be if I can’t even face my fears to give you an amazing speech?”</p><p class="p1">“You’re still one of my best friends, whether you give that stupid speech or not,” Hyunjin said, rolling his eyes.</p><p class="p1">“But everyone there will end up mistaking this Lee Minho as your best, best friend.”</p><p class="p1">“Jisung, please, I’ll tell you this as many times as you want, but I’ve known Minho since we were kids, and he’s been insisting on the right to be my best man since I started dating Seungmin, so really, there’s no point in arguing about this, especially not when my wedding is literally next week.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung rolled his eyes. He muttered, “You’re just scared I’ll tell Seungmin all about the embarrassing things you did in college.”</p><p class="p1">“And <em>that</em> is just another reason why I chose Minho,” Hyunjin retorted.</p><p class="p1">“But—”</p><p class="p1">“Jisung,” Hyunjin said firmly, locking eyes with Jisung. “Is this my wedding or yours?”</p><p class="p1">“Okay, okay,” Jisung relented. “I just think it’s strange, you know. If Minho’s such a good friend of yours, how come I’ve never met him before?”</p><p class="p1">“He’s a busy person,” Hyunjin said. “He’s got a proper job unlike you and me.”</p><p class="p1">“Excuse you, I’m busy too!” Jisung protested, though he knew what Hyunjin meant when his best friend gave him a skeptical look. Hyunjin meant Minho had a real, paying job unlike Jisung and Hyunjin, who could be classified as struggling artists at best.</p><p class="p1">After a beat of silence, Hyunjin added, “Also… how do I say this… The two of you are just really different people.”</p><p class="p1">“You don’t think we’d get along,” Jisung said bluntly.</p><p class="p1">Hyunjin made a face. “Jisung, just promise me you won’t get into a fight or something with Minho at the wedding.”</p><p class="p1">“A fight? I’m not that childish!” Jisung protested, but Hyunjin gave him a look that said otherwise. Jisung rolled his eyes. “Fine, I promise I won’t fight him or whatever.”</p><p class="p1">As Hyunjin sighed in relief, Jisung added pettily, “Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna still hate him.”</p><p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">As it turned out, he didn’t get the chance to really talk to Minho until the reception.</p><p class="p1">The wedding was a hectic affair. Jisung was too busy rushing around trying to help prepare for the wedding to even have the chance to be annoyed that Minho was the one directing everyone around, and by the time the wedding ceremony was under way, Jisung was so focused on trying not to tear up at the sight of how beautiful Hyunjin looked as he exchanged his vows with Seungmin that Jisung didn’t even mind not being the one standing closest to his best friend. The rest of the ceremony happened in a blur. Jisung had been trying very hard to distract himself with the excitement around him, and, before he knew it, he was seated at a table at the reception, waiting for the best man’s speech.</p><p class="p1">As Minho stood up, looking all prim and proper as he called for everyone’s attention, Jisung caught Hyunjin glancing towards him. Jisung made a face back at Hyunjin but reluctantly tried to look like he wasn’t about to murder the best man at his best friend’s wedding. However, listening to Minho’s opening remarks, Jisung couldn’t help the bitterness welling up inside him.</p><p class="p1">He had tried not to think about it the entire day, but now, seeing someone else taking up to the spot of Hyunjin’s best friend, even if it was just for show, only made Jisung feel worse. Sure, he had an ulterior motive for wanting to have the honor of giving a speech about Hyunjin, but it didn’t change the fact that Jisung knew he would’ve been the perfect person for the job.</p><p class="p1">But then, as Jisung continued to listen to Minho speak, as he watched how Minho’s dark eyes shimmered under the glowing lights as he stared fondly at Hyunjin, how his voice wavered as he congratulated Hyunjin and Seungmin and wished them a world of happiness, something dawned on Jisung. Today was his first time meeting Lee Minho, but he realized there was something familiar about the tenderness in Minho’s voice and the way Minho smiled at Hyunjin whenever Hyunjin glanced over at Seungmin or hid his face from whatever embarrassing anecdote Minho had just told. It was the same way Jisung acted around Hyunjin after all, whenever he thought his best friend wasn’t looking.</p><p class="p1">Jisung suddenly couldn’t hate Minho anymore.</p><p class="p1">He couldn’t, not when he realized Minho was exactly like him. That Minho was using this speech to do exactly what Jisung had wanted to do: to bury the overwhelming feelings of love that he had for his friend and move on.</p><p class="p1">After all the formalities of the reception had happened and the reception gave way to partying and dancing, Jisung found himself wandering the reception hall. Originally, he’d wanted to at least claim one last dance with Hyunjin, since he hadn’t been given the honor to be best man, but after Minho’s speech, there was something Jisung felt like he had to do.</p><p class="p1">He found Minho sitting alone at the open bar, slowly sipping on a cocktail. His eyes were on the dance floor, and when Jisung followed his gaze, he saw Hyunjin and Seungmin, slow dancing in the center of everyone’s attention, lost in the beauty of each other’s eyes.</p><p class="p1">Jisung was happy for them. Truly. He’d seen how happy they made each other, like they were two parts of a whole that fit perfectly together. It didn’t make it hurt any less though, to know that Jisung had never stood a chance at being with Hyunjin, who Jisung had developed a crush on since they were roommates their freshman year in college. He turned back to Minho, who still didn’t seem to notice his presence. Jisung didn’t expect Minho to acknowledge him anyways. Minho was looking at Hyunjin with such a content yet longing look that Jisung couldn’t blame Minho for not seeing anyone else.</p><p class="p1">Loudly, Jisung sat down next to Minho and waved the bartender over. “Two shots of vodka and a coke, please.”</p><p class="p1">His voice finally drew Minho’s attention to him. Looking at Jisung in concern as the bartender set two shot glasses in front of Jisung, Minho commented, “Looks like someone’s trying to get drunk.”</p><p class="p1">“Don’t worry, they’re not both for me,” Jisung replied. He pulled out his wallet and gave the bartender a hefty tip, knowing there was a high chance he was about to make this a horrible night for the bartender. He pulled one shot glass towards himself, and then pushed the other towards Minho, who raised an eyebrow. “That one’s for you.”</p><p class="p1">“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but I’m not trying to get drunk at my best friend’s wedding,” Minho snapped, pushing the shot glass back towards Jisung. “Who are you, anyways?”</p><p class="p1">“The name’s Han Jisung,” Jisung replied as he rolled his eyes and took his shot alone. He didn’t even have it in him to be annoyed that Minho didn’t recognize him. Chasing the alcohol with some of his soda, he glanced over at Minho, who was now studying Jisung through the darkness. “What?”</p><p class="p1">“So you’re the Jisung I’ve been hearing about from Hyunjin,” Minho said.</p><p class="p1">“Oh?” That caught Jisung’s interest. “You’ve only been hearing good things, I hope.”</p><p class="p1">Minho blinked blankly before his lips curled into a smirk. “If good things include him telling me to beware that his best friend from college might be looking for a chance to fight me because I beat him to the chance of becoming Hyunjin’s best man, then yes, only good things.”</p><p class="p1">His words made Jisung scowl. He sipped on his soda, his cheeks puffed out slightly in a pout, as he muttered, “Damn it, Hyunjin. Can’t he ever say something nice about me for once?”</p><p class="p1">“He also said not to tell you that you’re his actual best friend and the real reason why he chose me to be best man over you was because he knew he’d be a sobbing mess if you gave a speech, and he wanted to at least save some of his dignity on his wedding day.”</p><p class="p1">His words made Jisung grin into his drink. “Heh, he should’ve just told me. Sounds like I’m going to need to write him a letter to make him cry in private.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung didn’t miss the way the corners of Minho’s mouth twitched upwards. Slowly, Minho’s eyes turned towards the untouched shot glass. “So, what did you offer me a drink for, if it’s not to fight me?”</p><p class="p1">“I can’t offer a pretty man a drink?” Jisung joked. Minho raised an eyebrow, and Jisung couldn’t tell if it was the dim lighting or the one shot of alcohol he’d taken, but there was something incredibly alluring in the way Minho’s intense gaze focused on him. Now that he’d called Minho pretty aloud, Jisung couldn’t help but admit to himself that Minho was indeed an incredibly attractive man. With those looks, relationships must have been easy for someone like Minho, which made it all the more strange that Minho had clearly never taken that chance with Hyunjin.</p><p class="p1">“Are you going to tell me the real reason?” Minho asked, waving a hand in Jisung’s face to get him to refocus.</p><p class="p1">Jisung scowled again as he averted his gaze. Staring into the murky liquid that was his soda, Jisung said, “Just thought you might need one.”</p><p class="p1">“I’m good,” Minho responded, almost a little too quickly. “I don’t know what you want, Jisung, but I’m not planning on making a fool out of myself on Hyunjin’s wedding day.”</p><p class="p1">“It’s just one drink,” Jisung grumbled. He began to wave the bartender over again as he continued, “Besides, it’s the least you can do, since you got the chance to get your closure instead of me.”</p><p class="p1">“What?”</p><p class="p1">Jisung glanced back over at Minho, whose gaze had grown steely. Jisung just shrugged and ordered another two shots from the bartender, pushing the first shot back towards Minho again. “You hid it well, with your speech, but I’m not like everyone else at this wedding, Lee Minho. That speech was your way of letting go of your feelings for Hyunjin. I would know. I wanted to give the exact same kind of speech after all.”</p><p class="p1">Minho stared long and hard at Jisung. After the bartender had poured out another two shots for Jisung, Minho suddenly grabbed hold of Jisung’s arm before Jisung could reach for a glass to take another shot. Jisung turned to Minho with a frown, but before he could say anything, Minho grabbed the shot glass that’d been offered to him earlier and downed it in one gulp. Slamming the glass back on the table, Minho grabbed one of the two shots that Jisung had just ordered and held it out to Jisung. There was a desperate ferociousness to his eyes that hadn’t been there a moment ago, and as Jisung stared back, Minho nudged his head in the direction of the other shot of vodka. “Come on, Han Jisung. I’ll accompany you for a shot or two.”</p><p class="p1">The corner of Jisung’s mouth quirked upwards. He took his glass and clinked it with the one Minho was holding out. Making eye contact with Minho, Jisung quietly said, “To hell with these feelings.”</p><p class="p1">“Couldn’t have said it better,” Minho replied, and they knocked back their drinks together.</p><p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Jisung’s memories after that were a bit fuzzy. After a couple more rounds of shots, Minho and Jisung were finally turned away from the bar, and they’d ended up off in their own corner, trading their favorite stories about Hyunjin, all the embarrassing moments they’d gotten to witness and all the moments that had made them fall in love with Hyunjin all the more. When they’d gotten bored of that, eventually, egged on by a drunk but supportive Minho, Jisung had climbed onto a table and, tapping a champagne glass so hard that it’d shattered, he’d called for everyone’s attention and began his impromptu and longwinded speech about what an amazing friend Hyunjin was and what a wonderful future he and Seungmin were going to have together. It was the closure he had needed, even though he could barely process what he was saying, and better yet, it gave him another precious memory of Hyunjin sobbing as he hugged and scolded Jisung for making him cry so much on his wedding day.</p><p class="p1">The one memory Jisung did remember clearly, however, was the warmth of Minho’s hand in his as Minho pulled him onto the dance floor after his speech.</p><p class="p1">Minho was a gorgeous dancer. There was a fluidity to his every move that made him mesmerizing to watch, whether Minho was jumping around and showing off powerful moves to hype music, or gently swaying side to side whenever a slow song came on. However, what Jisung felt most keenly was just how comfortable he felt dancing with Minho.</p><p class="p1">There was something about the way Minho looked at him throughout the entire night, a clarity through their alcohol-induced haze that told Jisung that Minho wasn’t just looking at him; no, it was like Jisung was all Minho could see, in the same way Minho had captivated Jisung’s entire attention. The hours blurred by as Jisung danced with Minho for what felt like an eternity, losing himself to the pulsing rhythm of Minho’s heartbeat against his. It was an exhilarating feeling that had Jisung wishing the night would never end, that he might just spend the rest of his life dancing and singing with Minho on the dance floor, stuck in a world of their own.</p><p class="p1">Jisung didn’t remember when he’d given Minho his number. He did remember having to bid Minho goodbye, and he remembered clinging shamelessly onto Hyunjin, who’d been kind enough to escort him back to his hotel room, but his memories of the wedding mostly ended there, the details forever lost to his drunken stupor. It was why, when Jisung woke the next morning, he’d been surprised that the first thing he saw was a text from “Lee Minho <span class="s1">😡</span>”. The contact name made Jisung chuckle. Drunk him probably still had just a slight grudge against Minho for being Hyunjin’s best man.</p><p class="p1">Minho’s text hadn’t been anything important. It was a simple hello, asking how he was doing, but after Jisung responded and their bantering continued, their conversations almost naturally began to liven up. Over the next few weeks, Jisung had developed a habit of checking his phone constantly for Minho’s texts, and he quickly lost track of the number of times they had video called each other on the weekends, chatting about the most random things.</p><p class="p1">In many ways, Hyunjin had been right. Jisung and Minho were opposites in more ways than one. Jisung’s life was consumed with his unrelenting pursuit of a music career, hours spent scrawling lyrics into a notebook and scraping together demo tracks to send to record labels in the hope of that one might acknowledge his talent. His motivation came and went in bursts of passion, a push and pull between frenzied inspiration and lengthy downtimes, but no matter how hard it got, there was one thing Jisung would never let himself do, and that was give up.</p><p class="p1">Minho was similar to him in that front. Despite his decision to work at some fancy tech company and spend his days working with code that made Jisung’s head spin whenever Minho showed him what he was working on, Minho’s passion for dance had steadily burned on, and Jisung loved it whenever Minho shared stories about the kids in the dance classes he taught after work. Where Minho differed was the pervading sense of calm that defined the older man and influenced the way he lived his life. He achieved results through steady persistence and diligent work, kept to a healthy lifestyle, and still managed to make his every action look effortless. It was something Jisung admired about Minho, even though he had absolutely no desire to start any healthy living habits anytime soon.</p><p class="p1">And yet, even though they were so different, they coexisted in a way that Jisung hadn’t thought was possible. They acknowledged their differences, got excited about the things they happened to both like, and didn’t bother trying to talk about things that might make the other uncomfortable. Even though their contrasting lifestyles and schedules often meant hours would pass before either would reply to a text, Jisung never felt awkward about responding to Minho. Their conversations flowed naturally from one topic to another, and during the times when neither had much to say, even when they were calling each other, they were both perfectly happy to bask in the silence between them rather than clutter it with words.</p><p class="p1">Comfortable was how Jisung would describe it. His conversations with Minho were comfortable, and even though they could only talk remotely, Minho was comfortable too. Jisung liked having Minho in his life, and he could tell Minho enjoyed his company too.</p><p class="p1">If there was one thing that Jisung was bothered by though, it was the lack of Minho’s physical presence in his life. After all, he hadn’t seen Minho once since Hyunjin’s wedding, and their daily conversations through text and video calls were the only connection he had with him. They’d entertained the idea of meeting up, but ultimately, it couldn’t be helped. They lived in different parts of the city, and Minho’s job kept him busy all throughout the week, while Jisung’s schedule continued to be a haphazard mess as Jisung struggled to meet application deadlines and busied himself with making new music. Add that to the fact that Jisung mostly preferred to laze about in his apartment and that Minho preferred visiting his cats (and family) over visiting his friends, the both of them had seemingly accepted that they would meet up when the time came, whenever that time was. There was no point forcing it, and Jisung was perfectly happy with that arrangement.</p><p class="p1">Little did he know how wrong he would be.</p><p class="p2"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Two months after the wedding, Hyunjin invited Jisung over for a housewarming party.</p><p class="p1">Jisung hadn’t even hesitated to say yes. It felt like it’d been forever since he’d seen his best friend, and his brain also deserved a break for churning out several songs’ worth of lyrics. It was only after he’d agreed to go though, that Jisung realized if he was invited, then surely…</p><p class="p1">“Is Minho going too?” Jisung asked. He frowned when he heard Hyunjin let out a loud snort from the other side of the line. “What?”</p><p class="p1">“Nothing,” Hyunjin laughed. “I guess I should’ve known you’d ask. Minho asked if you were coming too when I called him earlier.”</p><p class="p1">“You asked him before you asked me?” Jisung exclaimed. “As your best friend, I—”</p><p class="p1">“Please don’t tell me you’re still going on about that,” Hyunjin groaned. “You <em>are</em> my best friend, but Minho’s the one with the tighter schedule. I asked him first, since we’d have the flexibility to pick a day when he’d be free.”</p><p class="p1">“I guess that makes sense,” Jisung muttered. “So he’s going then?”</p><p class="p1">Hyunjin let out a long sigh, and it was more than enough to provide Jisung with an answer. “Unfortunately, he said he couldn’t make it. I’m sure you know how he is by now. He’s got projects to work on, classes to teach, and his parents got another cat that he’s been going to visit. He did sound more interested in coming when I said you’d probably come, but in the end, he chose maintaining his sleep schedule over his friends.”</p><p class="p1">“Typical,” Jisung chuckled. “Well, that just means more food for me at the party then.”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, yeah.” Hyunjin was trying to sound annoyed, but Jisung could hear the affection in his voice. “You better show up hungry, Jisung. We’re going to feed you so well that Minho will regret not coming.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung grinned. In the days leading up to the party, Jisung texted Minho every day just to bother him for choosing not to go to Hyunjin’s party. He didn’t get many responses, though the few he did get were often limited to the wide array of stickers Minho liked using to jokingly display his displeasure. It was fun teasing Minho, though Jisung seemed to have developed a knack of knowing when exactly to stop and spam Minho’s phone instead with the endless photos he’d received of Minho’s cats. Minho never got mad at him for that, and more often than not, it was a better strategy for starting an actual conversation with him.</p><p class="p1">Something changed, however, on the day of the party.</p><p class="p1">Minho had ignored all his texts during the day like usual, and Jisung hadn’t really given it much thought. He knew Minho was as busy as he claimed after all, but just as Jisung had been about to arrive at Hyunjin’s place for the party, Minho suddenly called him.</p><p class="p1">“You’re probably at Hyunjin’s place already, right?” Minho asked the moment Jisung had picked up.</p><p class="p1">“Almost. You know me, always fashionably late,” Jisung laughed as he glanced at his watch. He was running a couple of minutes late, but as it were, he had just arrived at Hyunjin and Seungmin’s apartment building. There was an elevator in the building, but if he used it, his cell connection would probably cut off, and Jisung wasn’t that eager to end his call with Minho just yet. It was rare enough for the older man to willingly call him, and maybe he could use the exercise.</p><p class="p1">Jisung pushed open the door to the stairwell. “So, what did you call me for?”</p><p class="p1">“Nothing,” Minho obtusely replied. It was silent for a while, enough for Jisung to climb an entire flight of stairs, before Minho continued, “I was hoping you could wish Hyunjin and Seungmin well for me.”</p><p class="p1">“Finally feeling bad for not coming?” Jisung teased.</p><p class="p1">“Not really. I’ve got Dori with me right now, and she makes much better company than you, Han Jisung,” Minho replied in a deadpan voice.</p><p class="p1">“Hey, you don’t get to make that judgment yet,” Jisung whined, though internally, he knew that if he had the chance, he too would probably choose to see Minho’s newest cat over his friends. “We’ve literally only met in person once.”</p><p class="p1">“Right…” Minho trailed off, his tone sounding a little deflated at the end. It made Jisung frown, though a part of it might’ve been because his heart was now thundering in his chest from the amount of stairs he’d climbed. Jisung scowled when he realized he was only on the fifth floor, but his attention was quickly distracted again by the sound of Minho’s voice.</p><p class="p1">“I guess the real reason why I called was to apologize. I wasn’t lying about having so much work to do, but I do regret not being able to meet you in person again.”</p><p class="p1">“Well that makes the two of us,” Jisung replied. “Guess there’s always next time?”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah. Next time.”</p><p class="p1">Minho went silent again, and Jisung made it up to the eighth floor before Minho began to talk again. “One more thing I guess, but do… wait, Jisung, why are you breathing so heavily?”</p><p class="p1">“Huh? No, I’m not,” Jisung squeaked out as he sucked in a big breath of air.</p><p class="p1">“Yes, you are. What are you—Han Jisung, don’t tell me you’re taking the stairs up to Hyunjin’s apartment?”</p><p class="p1">“So what if I am? The elevator would’ve cut off the phone signal.”</p><p class="p1">“They live on the twenty-fifth floor, Jisung!” Minho exclaimed. Jisung could already imagine Minho pressing a hand to his forehead, and it made him giggle. “Jisung, I’m serious, how far did you climb?”</p><p class="p1">“It’s fine, I’m almost there,” Jisung insisted, which was a lie. Jisung hadn’t moved since reaching the eighth floor, and the thought of taking another step made his legs hurt more than they already did.</p><p class="p1">“Don’t lie to me, Jisung. I love talking to you too, but please just get in the elevator right now.”</p><p class="p1">As much as Jisung wanted to protest, he didn’t have to be told twice. Minho stayed with him on the phone until the familiar ding of the elevator arriving echoed through the hallway. It earned a satisfied sigh from Minho, who continued, “I’ll message you later then, Jisung. Enjoy the party.”</p><p class="p1">He hung up before Jisung could get another word in. Grumpily, he trudged into the elevator, but as his heart rate slowly calmed down, he quickly brightened up. A party at Hyunjin’s place, combined with Minho calling him and then saying he’d message Jisung later?</p><p class="p1">Today was a good day, Jisung decided, and he would make sure it stayed that way by focusing his attention back on the party. Minho had told him to enjoy it after all, and Hyunjin deserved nothing less than Jisung’s maximum enthusiasm.</p><p class="p1">It wasn’t until later in the evening, long after a delicious dinner and hours spent catching up with his friends, that Jisung remembered Minho was supposed to message him. They’d been watching one of Hyunjin’s favorite dramas when Jisung’s phone chimed loudly in the middle of a dramatic scene.</p><p class="p1">“Sorry, sorry,” Jisung said, as he hurried to pull out his phone, but the moment he glanced at his phone screen, Jisung froze.</p><p class="p1">It was a message from Minho, but instead of his usual good night message, it was a single question that made Jisung’s mind go blank.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Do you still love Hyunjin?</em>
</p><p class="p1">The din of the party faded as those words burned into Jisung’s eyes. It was only now, seeing those words in front of him, that Jisung realized he really hadn’t thought about it. He’d been so hung up about his lingering feelings for Hyunjin before the wedding, so convinced he would struggle to get over them, and yet here he was, not even a month later, at a party in Hyunjin’s home, fawning over how happy Hyunjin and Seungmin looked in the wedding pictures they’d put up in their apartment.</p><p class="p1">Did he still love Hyunjin? Jisung glanced over at where Hyunjin was cuddling Seungmin on the couch, his lanky limbs all over Seungmin’s. It was a sight that brought a smile to his face. He was happy that Hyunjin was happy, and that was that. The heart-fluttering feeling that Jisung used to feel around Hyunjin was gone, and as Jisung turned his attention back on Minho’s text message, he realized it had a lot to do with the person who had since consumed every waking moment of his mind.</p><p class="p1">Jisung typed out his response.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>No, I don’t. I’ve moved on.</em>
</p><p class="p1">It was incredibly freeing, Jisung realized, to be able to so confidently say that, even if it was only through text. As a weight lifted from Jisung’s shoulders, he was about to set his phone back down when he noticed the tiny checkmark appear next to his text.</p><p class="p1">Minho had read his text. Jisung had assumed Minho would’ve gone off to sleep in the time it’d taken Jisung to respond. For him to still be awake, waiting for Jisung’s text…</p><p class="p1">Jisung hesitated before slowly, he typed out another message.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>What about you? Are you still in love with Hyunjin?</em>
</p><p class="p1">Jisung could see that Minho had seen his message, but an answer didn’t come, not until long after the party had ended and Jisung had bid his friends goodbye and begun the long trip home. As Jisung pulled out the keys to his front door, he heard the familiar chime of an incoming text message and fished out his phone from deep inside his pockets.</p><p class="p1">Jisung glanced at his phone screen, and immediately, the corners of his lips curled up into a content smile at Minho’s response.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>No, I’ve moved on too.</em>
</p><p class="p3"> </p>
<hr/><p class="p3"> </p><p class="p1">They started dating in the winter.</p><p class="p1">As if the universe was playing a joke on them, it was a day when Seoul reported record low temperatures as the city became encased in a blizzard. It was nearing Christmas time, and Jisung had never felt more alone than he did this year as he walked the streets watching couples dangling off each others arms. What made it worse was that it was the first year he couldn’t just waltz over to Hyunjin’s place to hang out like he normally did. A part of Jisung was tempted to crash at their apartment anyways, but he had the feeling that as happy as Hyunjin always was to see him, the couple wouldn’t appreciate him barging in on their first Christmas together.</p><p class="p1">Ultimately, Jisung had taken to wandering the streets, hoping the freezing cold would give his brain enough of a shock to inspire him with new lyrics.</p><p class="p1">The blizzard had died down during the night, but it was still so cold that most people had decided to stay inside. It left the streets mostly empty, and for the first time in a while, Jisung felt like he had the whole world to himself, a winter wonderland that only he was privy to.</p><p class="p1">When Jisung finally started to head home again, he stopped by a park located across from his apartment, drawn in by the way the streetlights were casting a beautiful glow onto the snow. For some reason, as he stared around at the empty park, marveling at the glittering snow that was falling all around him, Jisung suddenly thought of Minho. He struggled to take off his thick gloves and quickly snapped a picture of the scenery around him. After sending the picture to Minho, he began trying to put his gloves back on when his phone suddenly started ringing. Jisung stared at his phone like it was a foreign object.</p><p class="p1">Minho was calling him.</p><p class="p1">“Hello?” Jisung said, his voice cracking a little from how dry his throat had become from the cold.</p><p class="p1">There was a long silence at the end of the line. Jisung could hear something that sounded like the wind before finally, Minho’s voice crackled through the phone. “Han Jisung.”</p><p class="p1">“Lee Minho,” Jisung cheekily replied. He could almost see Minho rolling his eyes from the other end of the line. “What’s up?”</p><p class="p1">“What are you doing out in this storm?”</p><p class="p1">“You called me just for that?” Jisung asked as he struggled to hold the phone against his ear and put his glove on at the same time.</p><p class="p1">He heard Minho sigh loudly. “I should’ve known you of all people wouldn’t be home on the coldest day of our lives.”</p><p class="p1">“Hey! It’s pretty when it’s snowing out,” Jisung protested. “I sent you that photo for you to appreciate, not make fun of me!”</p><p class="p1">“Well your photo isn’t doing it justice,” Minho replied.</p><p class="p1">“You’d know if you could see it for yourself.”</p><p class="p1">It was silent again from the other end, though Jisung could hear something that sounded a lot like the crunch of snow beneath boots. Minho cleared his throat. “Well, for starters, I don’t even know where you are right now.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung busied himself with dusting snowflakes off his heavy coat. “I’m near my house actually. There’s a park across the street from where I live, so if you’re worried about me being outside, I’ll be fine. I can just dash back home once I get too cold. It’ll only take a few seconds.”</p><p class="p1">Minho didn’t respond. Jisung let the sound of crunching snow wash over his mind, a soothing sound amidst the silence, but after a while, when Jisung really focused on it, he realized it wasn’t just coming from the speaker in his phone. He whirled around. There was a figure slowly making its way through the heavy snow, and when it passed under one of the streetlights, Jisung realized with a start that it was Minho, looking like a penguin waddling through the snow in a heavy parka.</p><p class="p1">Jisung remained frozen as he stared at Minho slowly making his way towards him. Minho was still looking around the park, clearly looking for him, but when Minho laid eyes on Jisung, he too stopped in his steps and stared. After what felt like forever, Minho finally called out, “This is a lot more than just a few seconds from your apartment, Jisung.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung wasn’t sure what came over him.</p><p class="p1">Before he knew it, he was running towards Minho and bowled straight into him, wrapping his arms tightly around Minho and burying his face into the shoulder of Minho’s puffy jacket. Minho seemed too stunned for words. After a moment, Jisung could feel Minho lightly patting him on the back with one hand. Quietly, Jisung said, “Would it be weird if I said I’d missed you?”</p><p class="p1">Minho let out a snort of laughter. “Jisung, this is literally the second time we’ve met. I don’t even remember most of our first meeting because of how drunk we were.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung just hugged Minho tighter, as if it would make up for the small part of his heart that felt like it might just shatter to pieces. Minho seemed to notice. He suddenly wrapped his one arm tighter around Jisung’s body, and if Jisung focused really hard, he felt like he could feel the warmth of Minho’s body flowing into his. Nestling his head into the crook of Jisung’s neck, Minho continued, “For the record though, I really missed you too.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung didn’t know how long they stayed like that, hugging underneath the glow of the streetlight and the glittering snowfall. A part of him never wanted to let go. No matter how cold the wind swirling around them was, there, in Minho’s embrace, Jisung felt at home, his body sinking into the warmth and softness of Minho’s coat.</p><p class="p1">The longer he’d hugged Minho however, the more the reality of the situation began to sink in. Still keeping his arms wrapped around Minho, Jisung shifted his body so that he could properly look Minho in the eye, even if it meant nothing but a few inches of cold wispy breathes between his face and Minho’s.</p><p class="p1">“Minho, what are you doing here?” Jisung asked. There was no reason for Minho to even be in this part of the city, and to add onto the impossibility of the situation, Jisung had never once told Minho his address. Yet somehow, Minho was here, their arms wrapped around each other, so close that Jisung could see the flecks of brown that glittered in Minho’s catlike eyes.</p><p class="p1">“I was trying to surprise you,” Minho admitted with an awkward smile. When he broke the hug, Jisung found himself already missing the comforting touch of Minho’s arm behind his back, at least until he noticed the paper bag in Minho’s other hand. “I told my parents how much you liked cheesecake, so they sent me one and told me to stop thinking about work for once so I could come and share it with you. I probably should’ve asked if it was okay to come visit, but Hyunjin told me your address, and I assumed he’d know if you were okay with me visiting or not.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung’s smile kept widening as Minho continued to talk. Giddy with the knowledge that Minho had gone all this way to surprise him, Jisung couldn’t help but tease, “You told your parents about me?”</p><p class="p1">Minho smiled back and pinched Jisung’s cheeks with his free hand, his bare fingers sending a cold shock through Jisung’s rosy cheeks. “My parents like knowing about the people who make me happy, and you, Han Jisung, you make me really happy.”</p><p class="p1">If Jisung weren’t so numb from the cold, his cheeks probably would’ve been burning red. Jisung tugged his scarf higher up his face with a huff, scrunching his nose into the soft fabric.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, someone’s embarrassed,” Minho teased.</p><p class="p1">Jisung stuck his tongue out at him. “You’re not special, Lee Minho. You make me really happy too.”</p><p class="p1">“I do?”</p><p class="p1">There was something incredibly soft about the way Minho breathed out those words that made Jisung’s heart melt. A part of him wanted to wrap his arms around Minho again and never let go, but Jisung had the feeling he might get a little too emotional if he did that. Instead, he went with the next impulsive thing.</p><p class="p1">Jisung grabbed Minho by the hand. It was probably the cold that was making him feel so bold tonight, as Jisung started to tug Minho along, their fingers tightly intertwined together. “Come on, Minho, you came all the way here. Might as well show you the amazing view I sent you.”</p><p class="p1">Minho didn’t respond, though his smile had widened as he plodded along after Jisung without much of a protest. They ended up walking aimlessly around the park as Jisung commented on how pretty various trees looked covered in glittering snow and Minho teasingly retorted that they all looked one and the same. Jisung had half the mind to start a snowball fight with Minho then and there, if it weren’t for the fact that Minho was still carrying his precious cheesecake.</p><p class="p1">Eventually, as the snow began to stop, Minho had stopped Jisung and pulled him towards a park bench instead. Before Jisung could even ask, Minho set his bag to one side before plopping down onto the bench. Jisung moved to sit down next to him, but suddenly, he was being pulled down into Minho’s lap.</p><p class="p1">Jisung tried twisting his face around to look at Minho. “Uh, what are you—”</p><p class="p1">“Shh,” Minho hushed, wrapping his arms tightly around Jisung’s midriff. “You’re warm.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung stared long and hard at Minho before he cracked a smile. “You’re so strange sometimes, did you know that?”</p><p class="p1">Minho rolled his eyes despite the grin on his face. “What? Would you rather I not be?”</p><p class="p1">“No,” Jisung admitted, before letting himself relax into Minho’s embrace. “I like you the way you are.”</p><p class="p1">A comfortable silence settled between them, but it also gave Jisung the room to think about what he’d just said.</p><p class="p1"><em>Like. </em>It hadn’t been the first time he’d said he liked Minho, but now that he’d said aloud and in person, the creeping feeling Jisung had been experiencing throughout the past few months was now more obvious than ever.</p><p class="p1">Yes, he liked Minho, but at the same time, the word “like” was nowhere near enough to describe the emotions that had been budding in his heart, not ever since Jisung had become painfully aware of just how much he enjoyed having Minho in his life.</p><p class="p1">Maybe it was the stinging cold nipping at his cheeks, but as his heart thudded painfully loud in his chest, Jisung spoke up.</p><p class="p1">“Actually, Minho, wanna hear a secret?”</p><p class="p1">Minho simply tugged Jisung’s body closer to his and gently nestled his head into the crook of Jisung’s neck. After a beat of silence, Minho finally said, “Sure.”</p><p class="p1">Jisung waited a little longer, letting the cold winter night soak deeper into his bones. He closed his eyes, focusing only on the ticklish feeling of Minho’s hair brushing against his skin.</p><p class="p1">“I think I’m in love with you.”</p><p class="p1">Minho didn’t move. The sound of the wind was muffled through his earmuffs, and even the snowfall had come to a halt. The world could’ve been frozen for all Jisung knew, if not for the faint warmth of Minho’s body against his, and the dull thud of Minho’s heartbeat pulsing across Jisung’s skin. In that moment, illuminated by the single street light and basking in Minho’s warmth, if he closed his eyes, Jisung could almost imagine the cold night fading away, leaving nothing behind but the memory of Minho’s hand in his on that hot summer day when they first met.</p><p class="p1">Finally, Minho broke the silence, his voice dragging Jisung back to the present.</p><p class="p1">“I have a secret too,” Minho said, his voice a quiet murmur, muffled against the fabric of Jisung’s clothes.</p><p class="p1">“What is it?” Jisung asked.</p><p class="p1">He had the feeling he already knew.</p><p class="p1">Minho didn’t let the silence grow like Jisung had. Jisung wasn’t sure how, but Minho somehow managed to snuggle even closer to Jisung, his arms squeezing Jisung so tight he almost forgot how to breathe.</p><p class="p1">“I think I love you too.”</p>
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